Detachable handle construction for parasols, umbrellas, and the like



w. H. BEEHLER. DETACHABLE HANDLE CONSTRUCTION FOR PARASOLS, UMBRELLAS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION E I 1917- 1,342,320. Patented June 1,1920.

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WILLIAM H; BEEHLER, or ennu /roan, MARYLAND.

DETAOHABLE HANDLE oonsrnucrion on PARASOLS, UMBRELLAS, AND THE LIKE.-

One. object of the invention is to provide a detachable handle construction especially adaptable to parasols. Another object is to provide at the same time for using handles interchangeably with .parasols and -umbrellas.

At the present time parasols are preferably made with wooden rods or sticks. The invention provides proper latch mechanism carried by the handle and stickto secure the partstogether, suitable reinforcements for the parts andsuitable releasing means, and all these features are designed to comply with the very limited space requirements, as will appear. i Y I V The drawing shows one exemplifying embodiment of the invention, but after consid-' ering this it will be evident. to personsskilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in other forms, and I do not limit myself to details except as claimed.

Figure l is a longitudinal section of ad jacent parts. of a 'parasol stick and handle.

Fig. 2 is a similar section showing the latch in released position.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionat or -a. 1

Fig. 4 is a top planof the end of the stick with the inner reinforcing tube in position and with the outer. reinforcing ferrule, omitted; I

Fig. 5 is .a perspective view of adjacent ends of a parasol stick and handle, *and Fig. 6 is aperspective View of the same handle readyto be inserted in the end of a tubular metal umbrella rod. 7

' Figs. l-to 4; Show a parasol construction very'much enlarged and Fig. 5, is an exterior perspective view of the same construction in natural size showing the small outslde d1- ameter of the stick 1, which is practically as large as is permissible according to the pres ent day requirements for small and graceful proportions. The stick is bored centrally from the end andinthis bore is inserted a tubular reinforcement 2, which a piece of standard steel umbrella rod tubing and is i ent cal i h a piece cut-off of the end of Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 1 1920. 1 Application filed October 26, 1917. Serial No. 198, I v i i I i the metal umbrella rod 3 shown in Fig. 6,1

that is to say, the same tubingis employed and the reinforcement '2 is provided with. a

latch slot 4; at the same place that the rod 3 is slotted, as shown inFig. 6. When the diameter of the stick 1 is kept reasonably small-the thickness of the wood outside of the reinforcement 2, as at 5, Fig; 1, isvery limited. p V

The handle 6 is frequently of wood, although it ma be of other materiahland it is provided with a protruding dowel 7 .adapted to fit withinthe tubular. reinforcement 2,-and this dowel carries a spring-actuvated latch 8, which,'in active position, protrudes through a-latch slot 9 in the dowel, and when in active engagement with the stickalso protrudes through the latch slot lof reinforcement 2, as shown in Fig.1, to secure the handle tothe stick. A preferred constructionof the latch andlother parts associated with the handle will be more particularly described hereinafter.

A problem is presented in providing neat and presentable means for releasing the handle from. the stick. A simple expedient would consist in cutting away the wood-of the stick. adjacent: to the latch8 to give access to the latch, but'this would'be inartistic and unsalable. The limited thickness ofthe wood 5 surrounding the reinforcement 2 imposes decided restrictions upon mechanical devices which may be employed to release the latch. To overcome the-difliculties arising fromthe lack of space and otherwise, as above briefly mentioned, I provide the following releasing means'z The wood of the stick is "cutaway at 10 abovev the latch sufficiently to accommodate thehead 11 of a releasing button 12. A ferrule 13 is slipped over the endof the stick and this preferably has an end 14 overlapping the end of the stick but aper tured to accommodate the end of the reinforcing tube 2} which isusually adjusted to. protrude slightly through the aperture in the end of the ferrule. The ferrule'adjacent to the-latch is provided with a boss 13 formed by a pressing or spinning operation, and this boss has an opening 14 to accommodate the stem of the button- The but-" ton is put inposition on the. ferrule before the ferruleisplaced on the stick, and, if necessary, to permit the head 11 of. the button to pass overthe end .of the stick, the.

\ involved in arranging the handle releasing.

latter may be cut away slightly as at 15. When the parts are assembled as in Figs. 1 and 2, the head 11 of the button lies over the upper edge of the latch 8 and the head is partly accommodated by the inner part of the boss 13 To release the latch the button is simply pressed in until the latch is sufiiciently freed from latch slot 4 of the stick tube 2 to permit the handle to be drawn away from the stick. lVhen the handle is removed, the button is somewhat loose and will drop inward until its head 11 rests against the surface of the reinforcing tube 2, but at this time the outer end of the button still projects through the aperture in the boss. When the handle is to be re-attached to the stick the dowel 7 is inserted in the hole of the reinforcing tube and pushed all the way in, and the handle is then turned until the outer edge of the latch Sis opposite the latch slot. 4, Where upon the latch will spring out through the slot and strike the head 11 of the button and hold the button out with considerable firmness in extended position.

The described construction provides very simple mechanism for releasing the handle. Any thickening of the stick or other unsightly enlargement of parts near the handle end of the stick which would be necessary to provide a'separate spring, or any other complicated mounting for the releasing button is avoided. The boss 13 and the projection of the button 12 when the handle is in active position represents a certain enlargement at one side ofthe stick, but. these parts are so small that they are practically unnoti'ceable and unobjectionable. V

The ferrule 13 in addition to providing a mounting for the button provides an external reinforcement for thev end of the stick which, together with the tube 2, prevents splitting or other breakage of the stick and makes the latter as strong, if not stronger, in the neighborhood of the handle as at any other point. I

The described construction also represents the solution ofa problem which is device and stick reinforcing devices, so that there will be no interference with the runner latch 16,,which must be located quite near the handle end of the stick.

Details of some importance in the treatment of the stick to receive the releasing button and also toaccommodate latch 8 are thefollowingz The hole 10 to accommodate head 11 of the button may be formed by drilling 'at'right angles to the axisof the stick'until the drill intersects the central bore in which the reinforcement 2 is 1(3- cated (the operations "upon the. stick, of course, being performed before the metal parts are put in position). A longitudinal slot 17 is then formed by acircular'cuttin g tool, and this slot is substantially the width of the latch and is cut deep enough into the wood of the stick to accommodate the latch,

as shown in Fig. 1. By the use of suitable jigs, the .operations upon thestickmay-bei very quickly and accurately performed to locate the hole and slot exactly the right distance from the end of the stick. Evidently this proper location of the apertures in the stick is important to insure proper co: operation with the handle parts. The reinforcement 2 located in the bore of the stick is at the same time a reinforcement and a durable carrier for a slot or equivalent device to cooperate with the latch 8. Evidently, a latch engaging member formed in the wood of the stick would not be either accurate or durable. i

Fig; 6 shows a handle as above described,

which may be the identical handle of Figs. 1 to 5, opposite the end of the hollow metal. umbrella rod 8, which, as above explained, is equivalent-t0 an elongation of the reinforcement 2 of Fig. 1. The latch slot 4 in the rod 3 is, of course, located in the same position as the latch slot in Fig. 1, and, therefore, the handle will cooperate with the metal rod construction. There is thus provided an interchangeable handle whichmay be used witha set of one or more umbrellas and one or more parasols, or, of course, any number of handles of the same construction may be used with any number of parasols and umbrellas. This gives a wide range of interchangeability which is advantageous not only to the purchaser, but to the dealer in providing customers with the desired selection of umbrellas, parasols and handles.

The construction of the latch and associated parts carried by the handle may vary considerably but it is desirable that this construction shall provide for a very snug fit to prevent any end play betweenthe handle and stick, and for thatpurpose I have shown here a construction of parts carried by the handle which is the same as one of the forms shown in my previous pending application Serial Number 855,425, filed August 6,1914, and reference is made to that application for a detailed explanation. of the construction and its advantages.

One of the advantages of detachable handle construction is, of course,'to permit packing the umbrella or parasol in limited spacewhen the handle is removed, and for that reason it is usually preferred to arrange any protruding member, such as the dowel 7, uponthe handle, since in that case there are no parts protruding at the end of the stick and the stick may be made only solong as is required by' the length of the ribs when folded. But if this advantage is dispensed with,,evidently, in some cases, the parts as'shown inthe present drawing could be reversed that is, the reinforcement 2 ieo and the ferrule 13 with the button 12 could be placed on the handle and the dowel 7 with the latch 8 and associated parts could be placed in the stick, although in that case it would probably be desirable also to provide an outer reinforcing ferrule on the stick which would be substantially the same as ferrule 13 omitting the boss 13.

I claim 1. In an umbrella or the like, the combination of a wooden stick, a metal tube inserted in the end thereof and provided with a latch socket, a reinforcing ferrule about the outside of the stick and a detachable handle provided with a protruding dowel to enter said tube and with a spring latch to engage the latch socket therein. 7

2. Same as claim 1, with the addition of a latch releasing button carried by the stick.

3. Same as claim 2 with the addition that the inner end of the buttton is located opposite to the latch when the handle is in position in the stick and the external reinforcement of the stick is provided with a protruding boss to locate the button.

4. In an umbrella or the like, the combination of a handle member and a stick member, one of the members being provided with an inturned tube carrying a latch socket and the other member being provided with a dowel adapted to enter said tube and carrying a spring latch, and a releasing button carried by and protruding through the first named member and adapted to overlie the latch when the latch is in engagement with the latch socket.

5. The same as claim 4 with the addition of an external reinforcement for the member which carries the internal tube, said reinforcement being formed to receive and movably hold the releasing button.

6. In interchangeable handle construction for umbrellas and the like, the combination of a stick provided with a metal tube inserted in the end thereof, the tube being provided with a latch socket, a handle having an extended dowel to fit withinthe tube, a

spring latch within the dowel adapted to. I

engage the latch socket and a releasing button carried by the stick and arranged to engage the latch when thelatch is in active position to release the same by pressure apthe latch socket, and a button carried by the rod and engaging with the latch to release the same by pressure applied to the button exterior to the rod. 1

WILLIAM H. BEEI-ILER. 

